100,000 signatures delivered to the Brazil Parliament requesting a ban on cosmetic tests on animals!

100,000 signatures delivered to the Brazil Parliament requesting a ban on cosmetic tests on animals!

21/11/2013

Dr Frank Alarcón, a representative from our sister organisation, Cruelty Free International, has met with the President of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Henrique Eduardo Alves (PMDB) at the Brazilian Congress in Brasília to deliver over 100,000 signatures for a petition calling to end animal testing for cosmetics in Brazil. The petition urges the Government to champion Brazil as a modern, forward thinking country by banning the cruel use of animals in the testing of cosmetics on animals.

Brazilian actress and TV presenterLuisa Mell has joined the call for an end to cosmetics tests on animals in Brazil. Luisa says, “Beauty is a state that all pursue at some point in our lives. But beauty achieved at the expense of the cruelty of animal testing is not true beauty. Because beauty is much more than a pretty face. It is a state of mind.”

Traditionally, cosmetics have been tested on animals to demonstrate they are effective and safe to use. However, this can be done by using approved tests that do not use animals, and by sticking to the many combinations of existing ingredients that have already been established as safe for human use.

Many countries, including the whole of the European Union, use these modern non-animal methods, and the Brazilian Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (BracVam) has been established to approve non-animal alternatives for use in Brazil. These humane, modern methods are better for humans as they are more reliable at predicting how we will react, and of course better for animals who no longer have to suffer.

Cruelty Free International and the BUAV are grateful for the help and support of the Federal Deputy Ricardo Izar Jr (PSD), for arranging this meeting and who himself has presented a proposal on an animal testing ban to the congress.

BUAV and Cruelty Free International’s CEO, Michelle Thew, said:‘We urge Brazil to follow the European Union’s lead and implement a ban on cruel animal tests for cosmetics. Cruelty Free International and tens of thousands of Brazilians believe that it is ethically unacceptable and unnecessary for animals to routinely suffer and die for the sake of beauty. We urge the Brazil Government to listen to the voice of the public and put an end to cosmetics animal tests.’